Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1377 The Morality of the Shit Stirring Stick ([-])

October 1664, 10, the 7th anniversary of the landing of the early Founders.

Due to preparations for the upcoming election of the new executive committee members, Mo San has not had much time to meet with Baron Bravo since he talked with Baron Bravo on October 10th.Baron Bravo was somewhat disappointed by this, but just when he was planning to send his confidantes back to the Old Continent by boat as soon as possible, a Spanish warship sailing from Cadiz stopped all his plans—the favorite of King Philip. Minister and Secretary Balboa announced to temporarily take over all the work of the Spanish embassy on the east coast, and privately told Ambassador Bravo that he would immediately start an "extremely important bilateral meeting" with the East China Republic.

Secretary Balboa's arrival did not cause any disturbance in Dongfang Port, because he kept in mind the arduous task of this trip, and asked Mo San, who is in charge of the diplomatic power on the East Coast, to meet with a low-key and secretive attitude.Although Mr. Mo San was busy, facing the unexpected Secretary Balboa, he still took the time to meet with him in his private villa in the countryside to avoid the crowded county town.

As soon as Secretary Balboa arrived, he went straight to the point and asked whether a secret agreement with the nature of a military covenant could be concluded with the East Coast Republic of China. This agreement did not involve other content, and only aimed at France alone, that is, only when the Kingdom of France formally invaded Spain The corresponding clauses in this agreement will only be activated during the time of the kingdom.

Mo San was a little surprised by the eager attitude of the Spaniards. Although the East Bank also had a plan to support Spain so that it would not fall quickly and take advantage of the opportunity, he did not expect the Spaniards to send a heavyweight official from the mainland so soon. Come on, this is really unexpected!Could it be that the situation in the Old Continent has evolved to such a critical moment?It shouldn't be!

Of course, perhaps because of news transmission or intelligence acquisition, King Louis XIV of France had said such a thing in private before, but the people on the east coast did not know it.These words are very long, but the meaning is very concise and clear, that is, Louis XIV believes that his wife, Princess Maria Teresa of the Kingdom of Spain, was born to King Philip and his first wife, and his brother-in-law, young The young Prince Carlos was born to King Philip and his second (that is, his current niece) wife. According to ancient traditions and rules, the children born to the first wife have priority in the order of succession to the second wife Therefore, even though Prince Carlos is male, Princess Teresa should have priority in the succession to the Spanish throne.

These words spoken in private were quickly spread to Madrid by Spanish spies—the Spaniards have never spared no effort in collecting information about the French court, and vice versa, after all, the marriage of nobles between the two countries is too common. , to the ears of King Philip.The old king, who had long been keenly aware of his son-in-law’s mind, was not surprised at all, and this also contributed to his determination to give up some of his interests in exchange for other countries’ support for the Habsburg royal family and Prince Carlos’ continued rule of the huge Spanish kingdom. The East Coast Republic of China, which has become famous in recent years, is naturally an important part of it. This is the reason why Secretary Balboa came to Dongfang Port. Of course, the East Coast people do not know the specific details, but they are familiar with the history. They had heard about the Legacy Wars, so after thinking about it for a while, they guessed it pretty well.

"According to the inferences of our country's intelligence agencies, King Louis of France has always had a plot to expand his territory, that is, to expand the French territory to its natural borders-the Rhine River, the Alps, the Pyrenees Mountains and the sea, among which the expansion to the Rhine River Basin is the most important. The first step to achieve the goal is also the most important step." Sitting comfortably on a grand master chair, Mo San held a pipe in his left hand and a document in his right, and said: "Of course, France expanded to the Rhine River Basin The Dutch are the most nervous, because this will not only invade their territory, but also threaten their commercial interests. You know, nearly half of the commercial trade in the German region will be controlled by the French who extend to the Rhine , Who can bear this? However, considering the strong army strength of the French, whether the United Provinces will stand on your country's side in a possible war, I think it is very suspicious."

Mo San’s words have pointed out the target of the French expansion, that is, the Southern Netherland, Franche-Comté, Lorraine, Strasbourg, etc., are all the territory of the Kingdom of Spain (or in name), This coincides with the judgment of the Spaniards.But the question is, how do you judge it?The Kingdom of Spain has less than [-] soldiers in the Southern Netherland, and they are full of remnants of the French. What's more frightening is that these remnants are already the most effective troops in the country. One can imagine When the tens of thousands of French troops came, how long they could resist, maybe a week, maybe a month, who knows, failure is inevitable anyway.

"Therefore, if our country enters into a military treaty with your government—well, a secret treaty, as you call it—then our government is obliged to go to war if France goes to war with your country. This is no small matter, you know. The Kingdom of France has sufficient finances, a large number of sailors (there are tens of thousands of French sailors or boatmen serving in the United Provinces), and a well-developed industry. Once we fall into a long-term war with our country, our losses will be great. You know, this is not Portugal with weak financial resources and a small population. If they are willing, it is very possible to build dozens of large warships within a year, which will inevitably increase the losses of our navy. You, the Kingdom of Spain— - How do you plan to compensate us?" Mo San gently put the document in his hand on the coffee table, and asked lightly, with a few smoke rings out of his mouth.

"Warring the Kingdom of France is not an easy task, we already know that." Clerk Balboa said with a wry smile, "After 80 years of fruitless war with the Netherlands, the glorious Kingdom of Spain's national strength has been severely weakened." Overdrawn, unable to confront the French head-on, so the support of allies is urgently needed, including money, supplies, and military support. The army I am talking about preferably includes the army army..."

"The army is absolutely impossible, Mr. Balboa." Mo San was stunned at first, then waved his hand with a wry smile, and said, "Frankly speaking, the number of our country's army is not even one-tenth of that of France. One, there is nothing undisclosed. Moreover, we can hardly afford to support the army of more than 1 people. No one can develop a large navy and a large army at the same time. We cannot escape this objective law on the east coast, so we are We plan to disarm the army and navy and reduce military expenditures in order to deal with the domestic construction in the next period of time. Therefore, to deal with the French, if we only dispatch the navy to attack the French, we are still competent, but we are sorry to dispatch the army. Difficult to do. At most—I mean at most—we send one or two mixed battalions to Guyana, the Caribbean, and take out the French stronghold there, that's all."

"That's a pity." Balboa was very disappointed when he heard that. Without a strong army, it was impossible to force the French to retreat.But then again, among the current European countries, except for France, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, I am afraid that no country maintains an army of 10,000+ all year round, right?Like the United Kingdom and the United Provinces, there are only thousands of people who are interested in each other. It is really overthinking to expect them to join the Spanish side to fight against the French Army, which is famous all over Europe. Bar.

"Moreover, Mr. Balboa, your country's ambassador, Raul Bravo, once proposed that Trinidad be given to our country as a reward for sending troops against France. With all due respect, that is impossible! Although the French impose high tariffs on our products, we can still take away more than 30 yuan in profits from that market every year. Once there is a war with the Kingdom of France, it is conceivable that all these profits will be wiped out. After five years of fighting That is a loss of 150 million yuan, and even if it is impossible to restore the market in a short period of time after peace, this is another loss. All in all, we will lose a lot if we go to war with the Kingdom of France. If you don’t show enough sincerity, let’s let it go.” Mo San took a sip of his pipe and said without a doubt: “Of course we like Trinidad, and the river area is also necessary, Mr. Balboa, Measure your own gains and losses."

Balboa was speechless when he heard what Mo San said, because what he said was reasonable and everything was true.People on the east coast were doing business in a friendly manner, but you ran over and said that you would send troops to help you resist the French, so if you didn't give enough benefits to impress the people on the east coast, why would they help you do this? Ah, just for the business interests of Peru and New Spain?To put it bluntly, if your Spanish royal family falls, do you think the French will not promise these benefits to the east coast in order to annex Iberia in a hurry?

Therefore, speaking of this, Balboa himself understands that if he wants to sign this military covenant with the East Bank, Trinidad and the inter-river region must be packaged and sent to the East Bank together, otherwise it will be impossible at this time. There is no possibility.This coincides with King Philip's previous judgment. The old king also believes that there is not enough benefit, and the East Bank will not participate, and Hejian and Trinidad Island are such a share that can make people on the East Coast Benefits of initial satisfaction.

"Also, I think we can give your country a message, um, free news." Seeing that Secretary Balboa was still "hesitating", Mo San decided to add fire and hold one of them in his hands I just heard him say: "Mr. Balboa, maybe I should inform your country about something. According to the information we have, Spain and Austria have reached a secret agreement. Leo Bode I ceded Flanders (i.e. the Southern Netherlands) and other places to France in exchange for the permission of the Austrian Habsburg royal family to rule Spain. This matter may be secret to others, but if King Philip If you send someone to Vienna to inquire about it, it should not be difficult to find out whether it is true or not."

In fact, what Mo San said was true in history. At that time, the German emperor Leopold I conspired with Louis XIV. Once Prince Carlos, who was born weak and sick, died, the Austrian royal family would inherit Spain. In return, Flanders and other lands that France had longed for were given to Louis XIV's rule.

Legend has it that Leopold regretted it as soon as he signed the agreement, but it was a done deal, so he could only choose to hide this secret deeply (but there are not a few people in the Austrian royal family who know about it, and it is not difficult for King Philip to find out the truth) .Legend has it that there is no copy of this secret agreement, and the only original copy of the treaty is locked in a metal box and is intended to be kept by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Medici.The box was equipped with two keys, one for each of Leopold I and Louis XIV, but later the box was intercepted by French cavalry on the way to Florence and sent to Versailles because Louis XIV was afraid that Leopold would repent.In fact, this is also the case. Leopold regretted it, but there was nothing he could do. Therefore, before signing the "Aachen Treaty", he was unable to support Spain on the bright side. He could only secretly encourage several powerful countries such as England and the United Provinces It is also tragic enough to force the French to make concessions together with Sweden.

This explosive news from Mo San really shocked Secretary Balboa. After serving in the Madrid court for many years, he never expected that Austria, which has always been regarded as the last resort by the Spanish royal family, would actually betray them!What a crap!How despondent!

Secretary Balboa waited for half a minute to react. At this time, he was not in a hurry to ask the people on the east bank for confirmation. He felt that the people on the east coast didn't need to lie about this to amuse them. This is not their style. At this time Nine times out of ten it is true, so many things and many assumptions must be reconsidered.

Secretary Balboa took a deep look at Mo San, and then said in an extremely slow and heavy tone: "Minister Mo San, in view of your country's excellent reputation and good character, I would like to make a formal proposal on behalf of the Spanish Royal Government, Your two countries immediately sign a military alliance agreement. This agreement is only for the Kingdom of France. That is, when either of your two countries is attacked by the Kingdom of France in any form, the other party must immediately fulfill its alliance obligations and declare war on the Kingdom of France. In order to safeguard the common interests of everyone. In view of your country's special situation, when your country fulfills its military alliance obligations, it is not necessary to dispatch the army, but it must dispatch the naval fleet to attack and destroy the main naval force of the Kingdom of France, blockade its main ports, and cut off its Overseas trade, occupying its overseas commercial stations and colonies, in order to force the French to submit. In return, after the war, our government will officially hand over Trinidad and Mesopotamia to your country. The military covenant is a secret agreement, and both parties are obliged to strictly keep it secret. The treaty is valid for ten years, starting from January 1665, 1. After the expiration, the two parties can negotiate to renew it for another ten years. The general content is like this, how about it , Minister Mo, can this treaty be signed?"

"From my personal point of view, this treaty has no issues of principle, and the probability of passing it is very high." Mo San smiled slightly when he heard this, a little satisfied.On the eve of leaving the highest political stage, he is still quite satisfied with continuing to expand the territory for the country. After all, who doesn't pursue a name to leave history?In a country like the East Coast, where the rising trend is becoming more and more obvious, the temptation to leave a name for future generations to admire and worship is not so great. He Mo San has everything now, and he only pursues this spiritual satisfaction up.

"But please stay calm, Mr. Balboa." Mo San put down his pipe, and said softly: "I have to report this matter to the Central Executive Committee, the highest authority in our country, and if it passes , then we will send capable personnel to contact you, negotiate and draft the official text of the secret agreement, and then sign and renew the contract. As you said, this is a secret agreement, and we will strictly keep it secret. Please don’t be arbitrary Leak the content of the treaty, otherwise it may cause international disputes. Now, please wait patiently for the results of the discussions of the highest authority in our country. This may take a few days, because we have to understand the consequences of the signing of this treaty and the possible future evolution of the international situation. Do a holistic assessment."

"I understand, Minister Mo San. I will stay in our embassy for the next period of time, and then wait for your country's reply, and very few people will know about it." Secretary Balboa said slowly He nodded slowly, and said solemnly.

(End of this chapter)